TOP MEDALISTS

48 Past Olympic Games

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Identity Card

The Games return to Greece, the birthplace of both the ancient and modern Olympic Games.

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Biggest Games

A record 201 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Olympic Games. The overall tally for events on the programme was 301 (one more than at the Sydney Games in 2000).

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Popularity in the Games also soared, as 3.9 billion people had access to the television coverage compared to 3.6 billion for Sydney. This global audience enjoyed coverage of never-before seen sports such as women's wrestling, which was included in the programme for the first time.

Records tumble

Swimmer Michael Phelps won six gold medals and set a single-Games record with eight total medals. Leontien Ziljaard-van Moorsel became the first female cyclist to earn four career gold medals, reaching a total of six Olympic medals, while canoeist Birgit Fischer became the first athlete in any sport to win two medals in each of five Olympic Games.

Memorable champions

Runner Hicham El Guerrouj won both the 1500m and the 5000m, while on the women's side Kelly Holmes triumphed in both the 800m and the 1500m. In team play, Argentina won the men's football tournament without conceding a goal, and the US softball team outscored their opponents by an aggregate score of 51-1.

Greek judoka

Tennis breakthroughs

Chile and China earned their first medals in tennis as Nicolas Massu and Fernando González (on picture) won the men's doubles championship and Massu also won singles, while Ting Li and Tian Tian Sun took the women's doubles title.

Fencing firsts

In fencing, women's sabre made its debut with Mariel Zagunis of the United States earning the gold medal. It was the first U.S. victory in fencing. Switzerland also claimed its first fencing gold when Marcel Fischer won the men's individual épée.

Greeks in synch

Thomas Bimis and Nikolaos Siranidis captured Greece's first medal in diving with an unexpected victory in synchronized springboard.

Greece first and last

201 National Olympic Committees marched in the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony. Traditionally Greece leads the parade and the host team goes last. Because Greece was the host, they occupied both positions, as weightlifter Pyrros Dimas opened the parade and the rest of the Greek athletes entered at the end.

East African sweep

Kenyans runners swept the medals in the 3,000m steeplechase with Ezekiel Kemboi taking the gold, Brimin Kipruto the silver and Paul K. Koech the bronze.

Marathon history

The marathon races followed the same route as the 1896 race, beginning in Marathon and ending in Athens' Panathenaic Stadium. Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil (on picture) was in the lead of the men's race with less than 7 kilometres to go when a disturbed man pushed him off the course. De Lima held on to earn the bronze medal and was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal in recognition of his Olympic spirit.

Olympia

The shot put events were held in Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games.

Original stadium

The archery competitions were staged in the same Panathenaic Stadium that was used for the 1896 Olympics.

Women's wrestling debuts

Women's wrestling made its debut with competition in four weight categories. Japanese women earned medals in every division, while France and the United States won two medals each. The first gold medal went to Ukraine's Irini Merlini, who dominated her first 4 opponents in the 48kg category and then won the final on a tiebreaker.

Olympic medallists

Above and Beyond

Yelena Isenbajeva
With the pole vault gold medal assured at the Beijing 2008 Games, Isinbayeva went for the world record of 5.05m, and thrilled the crowd by achieving it at her third attempt.
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